1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sports equipment for a gliding sport, i.e., an article of sports equipment, such as a skate, more particularly a roller skate or an ice skate, a frame for such sports article, and a line of such frames.
The frame includes an upper surface adapted to receive a boot and a lower portion adapted for fixing gliding element(s), the latter being a blade of an ice skate or rollers. The fixing of the boot on the frame can be obtained by various fixing elements oriented vertically and located in the longitudinal plane of the skate.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Three-point fixing of a boot to a skate frame along the longitudinal axis is known. Due to the presence of three fixing points, a good distribution of the forces is obtained, and the precise positioning of the various fixing points is not critical.
However, when one prefers to set a limit to two fixing points for economical reasons, their respective positioning with respect to the skater's foot is very important.
For an optimum fixing, the rear fixing point must be substantially in the center of the heel, whereas the front fixing point must in the area of the metatarso-phalangeal bending zone. For the same model of skate, which is provided with various sizes, the distance that separates the two fixing points, called the center distance, is not constant and varies from about 140 mm to 210 mm; there is a center distance value for each size. Thus, it is not possible to mount beneath a boot a frame that was not initially provided for it. For example, a boot having a mondopoint size 31 cannot receive the small sized frame, i.e., one provided for boots having a size smaller than 24.
Furthermore, and in a completely independent manner, it is necessary to have easy access to the fixing element(s) to facilitate the mounting and dismounting of the frame without it being necessary to remove the wheels.
To overcome any difficulty in this field, a solution consists of providing lateral access to the fixing element(s). This is the solution that was selected in the second embodiment shown in the document DE-94 19 948 U. Such a system is both cumbersome and expensive, and cannot be envisioned for mass production.
Another solution consists of allowing access between the wheels from beneath the frame. For a given frame size, and for a particular arrangement of the four wheels, only certain intervals are then suited to the arrangement of the fixing element(s). In general, the wheels are uniformly arranged along the frame, for all the sizes of the frame. Thus, it is impossible to select a center distance value that can guarantee the same ease in dismounting for all of the sizes, i.e., a center distance which is such that, for all the sizes of the frame, the fixing element(s) are exactly between the wheels. The problem is also to select a center distance value that is compatible with all the sizes of the boot (foot), and the fixing requirement in the zones of the heel and of the metatarso-phalangeal joint.
It is also known to provide adjustments which enable a relative fit of the frame with respect to the boot. However, such a fit can be performed correctly only by a professional, because the position of the frame and, consequently, of the wheels with respect to the boot and, therefore, of the user's foot is determinant with respect to comfort, handling, performance, and ease in skating. Thus, transverse adjusting slits are provided on certain skates, which make it possible to displace laterally at least a portion of the boot on the frame. Although such slits enable fine adjustments, they make it very difficult to correct the adjustment in the central position. Moreover, the user who, after the frame is detached from the boot, wants to attach the same frame again or replace it with another frame, will recover his/her initial setting only at the cost of a time-consuming manipulation involving successive attempts whose outcome is uncertain.